It's Mithos Mania!
by Jenvaati
Summary: Imagine if Mithos had a healer! This is THAT story! Try beating him on mania mode NOW!
1. Let's Go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Mithos would have won the final battle and the worlds would have been doomed.

Summary: Mithos gets a healer before the final battle. Now let's see if he'll lose!

Muahahaha! Review if that kind of thing makes you happy I guess...

It's Mithos Mania!

Let's Go!

Mithos laughed maniacally, in sheer enjoyment as he burned Ozette to ashes. Sometimes he felt like he lived for things like this! It was just such a thrilling feeling, to tear other people to pieces. He liked to say that he just hated humans, but to be fully honest with himself...hey, anyone's pain will do. The only person he _really_ wanted to stay alive was his sister, and for all he cared, everyone else could just drop dead, even if they were half elves.

Mithos turned around and blasted the angels near him for good measure. Die! Die! Die!

Oh _yeah_, life was _good!_

According to his calculations, Lloyd and company would come in about fifteen minutes. He had time to kill. Now to look like he was a victim, he'd have to lay down on the ground. But it was dirty there...And he didn't want to do that _now_. Perhaps he'd walk around for a little while...

"KEKEKEKEKE!"

Hey...What was that? Sounded like evil cackle.

Oh. Back that up. Someone ELSE was being evil at the same time MITHOS was? Say it isn't so!

Mithos knew it was a female voice, but he didn't know who it could be. It couldn't be anyone in Cruxis, because he killed every Cruxis member in the vicinity. That basically took away all the evil females. Hmm.

Without bothering to change to his adult form, Mithos walked towards the sound. He didn't have to walk very far from the outskirts of Ozette. He found a girl who looked about his "age," maybe even a little older. He'd peg her down for fifteen or sixteen, using his four thousand year old _wisdom_. She was in ragged clothing, but otherwise looked perfectly fine. And the second thing he noticed? Her ears were pointy! But not so long that they're able to reach your eyes and gouge them, like an elf's.

Which meant that she was a half elf! Oh yeah!

Her teal hair was in pig tails so that her ears were clearly defined. Every other half elf Mithos met hid them.

"KEKEKEKEKE!" continued the girl. She probably didn't notice Mithos was there.

Mithos walked closer, directly in front of her so that he'd be in her field of vision. "No, you have to take more breaths. Like this. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"KEKEKEKEKE!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"KEKEKEKEKEKEKE!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"KEKEKEKE! Oh, that was a lovely laugh. Made me feel so ALIVE!" the girl exclaimed. She grinned at Mithos, successfully making it seem like they'd known each other for years. "You sound like a professional villain!"

"I am, of course," replied Mithos.

"Sure, sure!" The girl twirled around and struck a pose. "Half elf Clementine at your service! Healer extroardinaire! Specialize in making pillows and breaking things!...How do you do?"

"Fine, I suppose..." muttered Mithos, unsure of what to make of that introduction. "Why were you laughing earlier?"

"Well, well! Clementine was happy, see? Healed the whole forest by accident with a new healing spell! Then, then just when Clementine thought that things couldn't get even better, got my hands on the only Mithos The Hero portrait still surviving! Kekeke!"

"Mithos the Hero? But I don't remember having a portrait done..." said Mithos under his breath.

Clementine didn't hear him. "Know what? Mithos the Hero is a half elf but people don't realize it! Clementine is sick of seeing people mock history like that! But, but you look a lot like the picture, you know? Wonder if you're a descendant!" And with that, Clementine untied the square-shaped bag from her back. When she took out a large frame, the cloth crumpled and Mithos noticed it wasn't a bag at all but just some cloth to hold the frame in. It was in better condition then her clothes (the cloth).

"See, see?" Clementine pushed the portrait up to Mithos' face, till he was two inches away from it. His eyes widened. There he was, like four thousand years ago, handing that treaty to those silly kings of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla! He was a mirror image of the person in the portrait, right down to the shoes.

"Where did you get that?" asked Mithos curiosly.

"Black Market, but it was sold at a really low price for something with so much of a historical significance. Clementine was surprised, you know? Hmm, I can't figure it out. Mithos the Hero never got married. He couldn't have gotten descendants, and there was no mention of an affair. He doesn't even have a death date listed though...Clementane is really confused," said Clementine in a fast rush of words.

"No death date? I was sure that was taken care of..." Mithos trailed off.

"Updated textbooks say that he died! But Clementine didn't believe them, and she looked all over! Bought stuff from the Black Market, studied so many months! And Mithos the Hero just disappeared, but she knows he didn't die! By the way, you look like a Bob," observed Clementine.

"Bob--? Listen, you! My name is Mithos!" said Mithos hotly. "_I'm_ Mithos the Hero! And what are you, a history nerd?"

"Oops, Clementine meant to say that in her flashy introduction. She likes history!" There was a pause. "Wait, you're--Clementine met...THE Mithos? Sign my portrait! Clementine's life got EVEN better!" Suddenly Clementine broke into (horrible) song. "Dreeeams do come trueeee--!"

The portrait was completely thrust at Mithos this time, along with a fountain pen and ink. Slightly unnerved, he signed the portrait. Then it hit him...he had a fan!

..He was evil, a jerk, and just plain mean. And he had a fan! "HAHAHAHA!"

"KEKEKEKE!" followed up Clementine. "Um. Clementine knows that historical figures have busy schedules, so she doesn't mean to keep you. But she wants to know if she can follow you around for a while, sort of like a stalker. Would that be okay?"

Mithos shrugged. "Sure, why not." Then he remembered that it was around the time that Lloyd would be coming back. "I destroyed the village of Ozette a while ago. If you come, you have to pretend you were a victim of the angels who destroyed it. Play along."


	2. Up High! Down Low!

Forgot to mention I haven't played the game in a while. And the build-up is slow because I want to start up a friendship.

Down Low! Up High!

They heard footsteps. Mithos and Clementine immediately began making agonized noises. But Clementine kept the portrait nearby so that she could admire it. So her agonized noises sounded like admiration half the time. Mithos secretly thought she had a screwed up childhood.

When Lloyd's group came, they immediately gasped and observed the damage. Then they noticed Mithos and Clementine as "survivors."

"Are...are you okay? What happened?" asked Lloyd.

"Oh, oh! It was terrible!" started Clementine, her hand to her forehead. Then she muttered under her breath with a quick look at Mithos' portrait "So cool, so cool!" She looked back at Lloyd. "Clementine was so scared! These bats--"

"Angels," coughed Mithos.

"...Batty angels, you know? They looked so irritable! And next thing she knew, her home was in flames! BANG! And gone! And she, she had to crawl--" Back to the portrait. "Can't believe I met _him!" _"Crawl on the groud, desperate, away from the fire!"

"Wait, angels?" asked Sheena.

"They had wings, so they had to be angels right?" said Mithos.

"Are you alright? That must have been traumatic to be caught in the midst of that," said Raine, concerned.

By now, Clementine was muttering incoherently to the portrait, sometimes casting glances at Mithos. But none of the others could catch a glimpse of it, and Mithos chose to ignore her for the moment.

And so they talked more, and the next thing they knew, Mithos and Clementine were dumped at Altessa's house for protection and such. But Mithos clearly didn't intend to stay there. He knew exactly when Genis wanted to visit, so he calculated when he would have to be at Altessa's. During the intervals he wasn't there, why not relax at Welgaia, kill some slacking angels, order people around?

"Going to cause some violence," said Mithos at one point.

"Oh, can Clementine watch?" Clementine asked excitedly.

"If Clementine wants to," said Mithos. He flicked her head for fun.

"Owww..." whined Clementine.

"Look, a dying penguiner!" exclaimed Mithos suddenly.

"WHERE? Is there blood?" asked Clementine excitedly, looking around. At that instant, Mithos grabbed her arm roughly and teleported.

"Clementine is confused..." moaned Clementine when they reached Welgaia.

Mithos didn't reply, just cackled softly. If that's possible. Fine, softly just seemed like a good adjective. It was actually very ear-piercing.

Then an angel flew to him, having noticed he arrived. "Lord Yggdrasil! You're back! Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Of course." Mithos formed a ball of light around his fist and struck the angel in the stomach. "DIE!" A hole appeared and the angel immediately crumpled and...went to a better place. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

He was proud of himself. But then he saw Clementine with tears on her face. Mithos was shocked, and wondered if he should kill her too. "You...why are you crying?"

"That...was so..._beautiful! _Clementine just saw art at its best!" exclaimed Clementine, her joyful tears streaming down. She wiped them away though.

A light blush formed on Mithos' face. He pulled back his arm from the angel's body, but then noticed a small scratch on his fist. "I must have brushed against the ring he's wearing..."

"Huh? You're hurt!" Clementine took Mithos' hand and held a finger over the tiny miniscule scratch that no one else would waste TP over. A white light glowed and the scratch disappeared.

"Pointless," commented Mithos, whose blush darkened. Clementine may be crazy, but her healing or rather obsession over himself was very similar to Martel. Well no wonder he had a sister complex! Martel started it!

"But history can't be marred," pointed out Clementine. "Clementine woudn't know what to do if a primary source was injured!"

"Your healing...to what extent can you heal?" asked Mithos.

"Uhh...Clementine doesn't know what you mean," admitted Clementine.

Mithos pointed to the angel. "Can you heal him?"

"Oh, oh! Clementine sees the light now!" She bent down and concentrated. "BANG!" As soon as she shouted that, the angel sat up, resurrected and healed.

"Lord Yggdrasil! I had the worst dream that you killed me--" started the angel.

"DIE!" yelled Mithos sadistically, and he killed him again.

Then Mithos grinned evilly. "Hahahahaha! Impressive. Lloyd gravely wounded me last time. I think I'll keep you around after all. I'll be unstoppable. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Clementine yawned. "Clementine's tired now. She says good night, evil historical hero..." And with that, she dropped to the floor and fell asleep.

Mithos frowned. "She didn't even follow up my laugh." He tried kicking her to wake her up but it didn't work. "Genis and the others won't be back till late tomorrow. I'll take her to the castle."

An angel nearby giggled.

"What are you looking at?" The angel was promptly killed.

"Waste of space..." spat Mithos, who liked violence more than was healthy. Then he teleported, and since his foot was still near Clementine, she was caught in the warp. He tossed her limp form onto a couch and then left to push around Pronyma.


	3. Stalk Raine! Stalk Raine!

Wow, I had absolutely no time to write this month...So that's why this update was so late. And I'm completely forgetting the characters of everyone due to Tales of Abyss. Ah well. One day I'll replay this. So sorry if this seems pretty rushed...

Oh, and thanks to all reviewers! I'll reply to them as soon as I post the next one..

Stalk Raine! Stalk Raine!

"Don't worry Martel, you'll be back soon...hahaha!" Mithos triumphantly gazed at his creation. Just a little bit longer and he'd have the Chosen. Right after that beautiful elaborate set-up with that Tethe'allan Chosen betraying Lloyd and Henchmen. Oh how Mithos loved drama!

"Kekeke," laughed a voice from a distance, though less enthusiastic than Mithos. Clementine soon appeared looking entirely disheveled. Her hair stuck out in random places and her eyes looked all droopy. There were black circles under her eyes.

Mithos stared at her for a second, and then decided he didn't really care.

Clementine snapped out of her tiredness and rushed over to the hunk of machinery. Hey let's give it a name! The Great Machine That Transfers Martel's Soul From The Great Seed To The Chosen of Sylvarant's Body Otherwise Known as Colette Brunel.

...YEAH!

"Oh what's this, what's this? Looks like some sinister device that transfers souls into protogonists' bodies! Is Clementine right?" asked Clementine excitedly, while putting her hair in pig tails again (she had taken them off in the middle of the night because she thought she'd get some sleep, and it's more comfortable without them).

"Sinister?" repeated Mithos, slightly offended. "This machine will revolutionize the world! My sister will finally be back with this blessed creation! It is _anything_ but sinister!"

"Clementine will definitely write the best selling history textbook ever," muttered Clementine to herself. As soon as she was done with the pig tails, she grabbed the fountain pen and ink that she forced Mithos to use and was feverishly writing on her hand to keep the quote. "When will Martel come back? Clementine wants to ask her historically based questions!"

"Soon, very soon! Haha...hahaha...HAHAHAHA!" Obviously Mithos is swept up in his plan! MWEE HEE HEE!

"KEKEKEKE! My textbook will be the best in the WORLD!" laughed along Clementine.

"HAHA---argh!" Mithos bent over in pain suddenly. "How could Lloyd have injured me so much...?"

Clementine was somewhat surprised, but not entirely. Maybe she had some experience in this kind of injury before? At any rate, she concentrated like before. "Ready...set...KABOOM! Better?"

Mithos' breathing evened out as a healing energy literally exploded inside him. Images of Lloyd's dirty four-on-one flooded his mind, and he grew angrier by the second. "I'll get my revenge..."

Mithos stood up, and he was about to leave the room when Clementine popped up in front of him. "Wait, wait! Clementine thinks you should rest first."

"Out of my way," said Mithos, rather rudely to someone who just healed him. HAHA, what an awesome guy!

(And that's not even sarcasm!)

Clementine shook her head. "That was an intense injury, you know? Even if you don't want to rest, Clementine can use her Stamina Special which'll be the same as sleeping for a day. Then you'll be as good as new, see?"

"Alright then. Stamina Special it is," stated Mithos.

Clementine grinned, and grabbed Mithos' hand. "Let's see...POW! CRAAASH!"

When Clementine let go, it kind of looked like the dark circles under her eyes deepened, and she was pale too. In brief: she was pretty drained. Not like she wore an exsphere or anything!

"That was...surprisingly refreshing," commented Mithos. "...Thank--"

Clementine interrupted with a loud yawn. "Want to go to sleep, don't you? All those artifacts in the castle, so, so cool! Felt like a museum! More than the Black Market! One place Clementine didn't check--KEKEKE!" She shot out of the room, though Mithos noticed a small stagger.

He shook his head, then decided that maybe he shouldn't blow his cover to Lloyd _just yet_. That would be too hasty. He walked to a different room and contacted Forcystus.

"Lord Yggdrasil? Need anything?" asked Forcystus.

"Yeah. Open one of the prisoners' cells," said Mithos, in his adult form.

Forcystus looked at him suspiciously. "One of _those_ moods?"

"Don't give me that 'Holier than thou' attitude. You do it too," accused Mithos. "Besides, it enhances the exspheres."

"No it doesn't," pointed out Forcystus. "The exspheres are always premature."

"Are you questioning me?" asked Mithos dangerously.

"...No, Lord Yggdrasil. How long till I should order the chase?"

"Hmm. Give them a minute headstart, so that it's a quick show. And make sure you connect the security cameras so that I can see this too," ordered Mithos.

"Alright. Fullest cell?"

"Fullest cell."

Mithos smiled to himself. He'd go down there and kill them himself, but he didn't want blood on his clothes before he'd see Genis and the others. It was almost time to get back. Soon, Mithos heard the screams of humans and watched the blood spray everywhere as the prisoners who tried to escape met their demise. And well, they always rose to the bait. As soon as the coast was clear, they'd always try to leave. _Works every time_..

"HAHAHA! That was relaxing," said Mithos to Forcystus when it was over. "Humans are _so_ predictable."

"Glad I could help," said Forcystus with an understanding nod. They closed the connection.

According to his mental watch, it was time to head back to Altessa's house. Mithos considered leaving Clementine here, but it would be suspicious to Genis and the rest of she wasn't there. He supposed he should look for her, and maybe that's a good thing because she'd study everything till she fainted of exhaustion.

Mithos turned back to his childish form and wandered around. He could have dispatched angels to look for Clementine, but we all know he didn't care _that_ much. Instead, he drifted from room to room at a pretty slow pace and eventually made his way to the roof. Clementine was seated at the edge, her legs dangling in the purple-y sky. Her face was twisted into a pout, and she was holding Mithos' portrait like it was an anti-depressant.

"You shouldn't sit there if you're sleepy," pointed out Mithos.

"Clementine must be dreaming, but her portrait seems to be speaking!" exclaimed Clementine. "If only she could document that..."

"It's not the portrait. Turn around."

Clementine looked up.

Mithos sighed and sat next to her. When she still didn't notice, he waved a hand in front of her face.

"Oh! Mithos the Hero, when did you get here? Clementine greets you!" said Clementine loudly. "I'm sorry, portrait. You might have talked, but speaking to Mithos is more important than his picture! You will have to wait."

"Ridiculous. The portrait would only talk if it had an exsphere attached," stated Mithos.

"So, so the portrait is magical?" asked Clementine.

"No."

"Oh. Clementine's confused..." Clementine yawned, and her pout deepened. "So, so sad! The horror! The inhumanity! Sacrilege, blasphemy, oh it pains Clementine so!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Mithos, getting straight to the point. It couldn't possibly be about the portrait.

Clementine rolled up her tattered sleeves and showed her arms to Mithos. Ink was smeared all over both of them.

"...So?" said Mithos after a pause.

Clementine attempted to pose dramatically. "All the quotes and notes! _Gone!_ Clementine's such a horrible historian! She doesn't know if she can do it all again from memory..."

Mithos laughed. "Your mind is pretty one-tracked. Do you need paper? You should've been able to find some in the castle. As for your notes, they were about me, weren't they? It's not like you won't see me in a while."

Clementine's eyes widened. "You mean...Clementine can stalk you for longer?"

"Yeah, whatever."

Clementine's pout did a 180...or something. Haha. Point is, now she's smiling! Wahoo! "So, so cool! So noble! Mithos the Hero is my ROLE-MODEL!"

"...Under one condition," said Mithos quietly.

"What, what? Clementine will do anything to keep stalking!" exclaimed Clementine.

"Whatever history you write...has to be biased and completely in my favor," said Mithos.

"'Course, 'course! Can Clementine write a biography too? _Every_ significant person must have a biography!" said Clementine.

"That would be a very big book," said Mithos thoughtfully.

"Clementine's been researching Mithos' life for sometime now! Gotta be put into one big book or bunches of volumes. Then she'll get rich off the Black Market and she'll shape history! KEKE--" And in the middle of the laugh, Clementine's head dropped and she fell asleep. Wait, you say people can't just sleep in the middle of laughing? Well Clementine's DIFFERENT. So THERE.

Mithos used a mini Icicle spell to try to wake her up. "Clementine...?" But she slept like a rock. He sighed and teleported, and since the Icicle was an extension of mana, Clementine got teleported too. HAHA, what a stretch.

...And they ended up at Altessa's house! Tabatha took Clementine to a bed, and she woke up only two minutes before dinner.

But tonight was very suspicious indeed. When everyone went to eat dinner, Clementine passed Raine on her way out of the bedroom. She didn't know Raine, but she knew that she looked either preoccupied or tired!

"Clementine wishes you a good night! But are you worried about something?" asked Clementine.

"No, nothing in particular. I am just going to turn in early for the night," stated Raine. But this was a lie, you see. For Raine picked up paper that was lying near the bed where Clementine slept. You see, Clementine took some from the castle because Mithos made her. And then Raine proceeded on writing a note!

Raine thought no one was looking, but she was wrong. When she boarded her rheiard, there was a small tug on her coat.

"Can...can Clementine come too?" It was a quiet whisper, but Raine heard it. She hesitated, and then nodded. Clementine boarded the rheiard behind her, curious about this midnight stroll.

There was a light breeze blowing around them. For a while, Raine circled the rheiard, like she was zeroing in on a place. They landed at ruins...


	4. More Raine Stuff

More Raine Stuff

"I finally found them...after all these years..." murmured Raine. Her hand grazed against the stone.

Raine might've been down, but as soon as Clementine left the rheiard, she was a picture of excitement. She bounced around and struck poses every once in a while. "Significant, yes? Sounds sentimental! Clementine wonders who made them. But as history dictates, this spot travels to Sylvarant! Light comes down and then BAM! 'Nother place! Just like that!"

"Wh-what? To Sylvarant...Then, I'm right after all. To think this was the place, eleven years ago..."

"Specific date? 'Leven years ago? Tell Clementine! She'll write it down for her textbook!" exclaimed Clementine.

Raine laughed softly and sat down. "I don't think you'll want this in any textbook. It's not that important."

"Nonsense! Your group is fighting for something right? Way Clementine sees it, you all gotta be villains or heroes! So you're gonna be famous no matter what. Tell me?"

Raine shook her head sadly. "Genis and I were abandoned here by my mother, to go to the 'legendary Slyvarant.' We were cast aside, neglected...I've been searching for this place all my life, and I finally found it."

"So how do you FEEL about that?" asked Clementine, though one would say her tone was highly irritating at this point.

"How do I...feel?" repeated Raine.

"Yeah, yeah! Better? Like a goal's been completed? Success? Victory?"

"Worse," stated Raine. "It is a reminder that everyone hates half elves. That we don't belong anywhere."

Clementine didn't even have a chance to reply. There was a sound of rheiards landing behind them, and Lloyd, Genis, and Mithos ran up to them.

"Raine! We were so worried!" exclaimed Genis.

"Half-elves shouldn't go off on their own...We have to stick together," added Mithos. "Don't go again by yourself, okay?"

"I'm glad you're okay too, Clementine," said Lloyd. In response, Clementine flashed a smile and winked at Lloyd.

"Clementine on duty! Raine's a-okay! Nothing's gonna happen with me around!" elaborated Clementine.

"So cheery..." muttered Lloyd. "Why'd you come here, Professor? I doubt this was Clementine's idea."

Raine explained her sad past again. HA! Like I was going to waste MY time re-writing that.

And when she was done, the Papal Knights rushed into the scene! With Kuchinawa as head!

"Kuchinawa! It's me you want, isn't it? So leave everyone else alone and kill me!" exclaimed Sheena, about to sacrifice herself.

"Sheena! What are you doing?" yelled Zelos.

"Oh my! Oh my! An impasse! Surrounded, surrounded. Hath Clementine met her end? Tragic, ohh the agony!" exclaimed Clementine, the magnitude of the situation reaching her. Kinda late, anyway.

Everything immediately silenced, and all turned to her.

"What's this? An audience? Well, a star can't fail to impress, that she cannot..." And Clementine flipped and did a handstand. Then she reached up into her tattered clothing and pulled out a match and three small torches.

"What's that crazy half elf doing?" asked one of the Papal Knights.

"Who knows," said another one. "But this beats patrol duty."

Clementine stuck the edge of the match into her mouth and balanced on the floor with one hand. Then she lit the match, and threw up the torches and the match. Somehow the act pulled itself together and the torches became perfectly lit. She juggled the matches with her feet, and moved around while she did so.

"Is that normal?" Mithos asked himself quietly.

The Papal Knights clapped their hands as Clementine began to dance to her own beat. She even sang a cheery song.

"Let's capture her and bring her back to Meltokio. I'm sure she'd bag quite a sum," said one of the knights.

Kuchinawa turned around angrily. "No you idiots! That's not the plan! We're supposed to capture the Chosen! No matter how...flashy this girl is."

Light started to come down into the ruins.

"Kuchinawa! Your opponent is me and me only!" interrupted Sheena.

"Sheena! What the hell are you doing?" said Zelos loudly.

Clementine caught the torches with her feet, and then threw them into the air as high as she could. She flipped, caught them in her arms, then threw them up again. She took out something from tattered pockets again, and tossed them at the torches. "BANG! BANG! BANG!"

A finale of fireworks lit the sky at the same time as the light reached the ruins.

"Let's go!" called Lloyd. Zelos grabbed Sheena, and Mithos and Genis made a joint effort to drag Clementine into the ruins, since she was busy bowing and waving.


	5. Historical Madness

Oops...I forgot this story existed. Haha. But I had this chapter done for a while...And well, the next one too. xD Uh. Well at least there isn't much left to the story, I think. After all, how long could it POSSIBLY take to get to...y'know, Altessa's house and then BAM Mithos is evil and everyone knows it! Stay tuned I guess!

Historical Madness

The following scene left Clementine breathless. Despite Zelos and Sheena arguing ("Zelos, why'd you butt in?" and so on), she found that there was a lot of beauty in Sylvarant. There was sparkling water nearby, and different species of trees surrounding them. Also, Palmacosta didn't look like any city in Tethe'alla. They were in the outskirts of the town, but Clementine had a good view of it.

"Can almost see the countless wars and blood that were spread across these blades of grass! This area right here, is the result of battles and deaths, to finally be owned by a man named Dorr!" Clementine's eyes welled up in passion for the knowledge.

"You know who Governor-General Dorr is?" asked Genis. "But how? I thought you were from Tethe'alla."

"If it happened, Clementine knows it! But...there's still a Dorr living? Couldn't get a family tree, so's Clementine thought the family might've died out. Trouble with heirs and all," explained Clementine.

"Well, he kinda died--"

"Sylvarant! What was Clementine thinking! Filled with ruins! Triet Ruins, Balacruf Mausaleum, what is Clementine still DOING here?" She suddenly jumped and started to jog.

Mithos yanked her back and rolled his eyes. "I thought you were following _me_."

"Oh!" Clementine smacked her head. "So many mistakes today! Mithos is right of course." Clementine walked behind Mithos and started pushing him in the direction of the Triet desert.

"There's _another_ one of Raine?" said Genis, nearly speechless.

Raine smacked Genis. "What do you mean by that!"

"Owww...Nothing, sis..."

"Anyway, I approve of Clementine's fascination!"

"You mean _obsession_," put in Genis.

Raine smacked him again.

"Owww!" whined Genis.

By now, Mithos and Clementine were about ten feet away. Mithos was dragging his feet into the ground because he was actually spying on Lloyd's group and didn't want to go to ruins in the middle of nowhere.

"Clementine! I don't want to go. Stop that," ordered Mithos.

Clementine squeaked and suddenly stopped. She ducked.

"What the--what kind of noise was that?" Mithos turned to check on her.

Clementine flapped her arms in panic. "Waahh! Clementine's a pacifist! But, Mithos is important too..." With resolve, she stepped in front of him and dived at the monster that was about to attack them.

Even Zelos and Sheena stopped arguing to stare at her. Everyone flinched as they watched Clementine get beat up by a small bee-like monster.

"Oh that's it. Stand still, Clementine," said Genis. He started a fireball. But instead of staying still, Clementine ran in circles and ran into the fireball. The bee was burnt too, at least.

"I _said_ to stand still!" remarked an annoyed Genis.

"It burns it burns it burns it burrnsss! Clementine's on fiiiiireee!" panicked Clementine, running in circles again.

"That's not going to help, you know," said Lloyd.

"Stop moving around, it's hard to aim!" Genis chanted. The others watched him and backed away.

"Um...Don't your spells hurt, Genis?" said Colette carefully.

"Don't worry about that. Clementine has a thick head. I'm sure she'll be fine," put in Mithos.

"If you say so..." said Colette, still worried.

"It burns it burns it burns--"

"TIDAL WAVE!"

"SPA-LASH! Now it's cold and wet and that kinda hurt and and owwwww!" whined Clementine. She stopped running in circles and plopped onto the floor.

The rest of the group exhanged glances.

"Should we...help?" tried Colette.

"3...2...1--" counted Mithos.

"--QUACK! CRICKET! STOMP!" shouted Clementine. All her bruises disappeared. She jumped up, and then stumbled into Genis.

"Aah!" Genis fell over, and they both landed on the ground.

"Genis, that was terrible," remarked Lloyd.

"Yes, I agree with Lloyd," put in Presea.

"That's not the way to hold a lady, brat! I could show you," started Zelos.

"Shut up, you idiot Chosen!" snapped Sheena.

"Ugh, now I'm all wet too," moaned Genis.

"But...She isn't wearing an exsphere. Clementine just healed herself. How is it so efficient?" pondered Raine.

"But it makes her so tired afterwards..." pointed out Lloyd.

"Excellent observation! Lloyd, you really have improved!" beamed Raine.

"Whatever, Professor.."

"It's still too dangerous to take her with us. I think we should take her and Mithos to Neil," continued Raine. "I'm sure he will take care of them."

"PORTRAIT CHECK!" said Clementine suddenly. She unwrapped the portrait from its cloth, turned away from everyone else and wiped off some stray drops of water. "Good, good, aaaand DONE."

"You're unnecessarily loud," commented Genis. "What is that a picture of anyway?"

"It's a picture of a thousand words," said Clementine, waving a hand in the air in excitement. "A single piece of paper that helped along the circle of life! It's because of this picture, that we're all alive today."

"That doesn't even make sense!" accused Mithos.

Clementine frowned. "You're going to hurt the portrait's feelings."

"Sounds like its a picture of her secret love," said Zelos knowledgeably.

"S'true! Clementine loves this portrait like it was a piece of chocolate dipped in an everlasting sea of air! Divine BLAST of happiness. This single picture is wrapped in lots of gald spending and CRUSHED in love!" exclaimed Clementine as eloquently as possible.

"That doesn't make sense either!" said Mithos loudly, pointing a finger at her.

"So I was right! And I bet it was a picture of...either Genis or Mithos," said Zelos.

Mithos flinched slightly.

"I doubt it. Clementine hasn't shown any affection towards either of us besides pushing me to the ground," said Genis.

"Maybe she's just old fashioned. She likes history after all," said Zelos with a shrug.

"I kinda get the feeling that pushing Genis wasn't an expression of love," said Lloyd.

"Or maybe...She's got some weird affection for the portrait itself," suggested Sheena.

_"She can't have a crush on the King of Tethe'alla...can she?" _thought Mithos to himself.

"Waah, so tiired," whined Clementine. She wrapped the portrait back up and strapped it to her back again.

Regal, who had been silent other than berating Sheena for trying to sacrifice herself, put a handcuffed hand to her forehead. "She's burning up. Let's go to Neil now."


	6. So much for Neil

So Much for Neil

_"Clementine sees the liigghtt! So shiny and welcoming..." said Clementine dramatically. She had a hand on her forehead as if she was going to faint. "Is it really my time to go?"_

_"It's not like you're dying," said Sheena irritably. "I don't see why you couldn't walk on your own, either. It's right there."_

_"...Clementine skipped dinner, and she didn't have enough energy. She's very sorry. Especially to Colette," admitted Clementine hesitantly._

_"Oh, it's no problem!" replied Colette immediately. "I'm just sorry I couldn't help anymore than this!"_

_Lloyd shook his head. "You dork. There's no reason _you_ should apologize."_

_"Oh, sorry," said Colette._

_"Anyway, next time you can let me know, and I'll heal you. There's no reason to beat yourself up like this," said Raine._

_"That's alright. Clementine's got herself covered, you know? Oohh, the light's getting brighter! It blinds meee!"_

_"There's no need for such drama," chastised Regal._

Lloyd and his friends left Clementine and Mithos with Neil. Before they left, Mithos handed Genis a flute that belonged to his sister.

"Are they gone?" asked Clementine, looking out a window. She nodded to herself. "GOAL! Way too overprotective, you know! Well, Clementine's off!"

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Neil, barring her way from the door. "You're left under my care, so I don't want you going anywhere dangerous."

"Gonna find those ruins. Textbooks don't write themselves, see?" answered Clementine.

"I think that's classified as dangerous," said Neil in reply. "If you need something to occupy yourself with, there is plenty to do in Palmacosta. We can take a trip to the pier."

"Aww, the pier's not bad but...Oh! Heh heh KEKEKEKE!" laughed Clementine suddenly.

"What's up with you?" asked Mithos.

"Ah, oh...It is HOT in here. Clementine's burning! Gotta open a window. Let's see...Mithos, can you help me open it?"

"Okay..." said Mithos suspiciously. He walked over but as soon as he did that, Clementine pulled the window as far open as possible, and jumped out while holding Mithos' arm. Then she bolted, dragging Mithos with her.

"Hey, wait...!" tried Neil. He helplessly looked out the window, and then called some guards. He asked them to help him find Clementine and Mithos.

Back to Clementine and Mithos!:

"Nice and breezy out here. Not stuffy like in there!" said Clementine loudly.

"You are _such _a bad liar. Hey...Do you even know where you're going?"

"Yeah just--ahh..." Clementine stopped moving and put a hand to her forehead. She was sweating profusely. "Balacruf Mausoleum is thattaway, but it's kinda far. Detour at Thoda Spas, 'cause Klein said we can rip off washtubs and sail. So, hi ho and away!"

"Who's Klein?"

"Really nice dude. Clementine's his regular customer. Buys her treats sometimes, you know? He's also very funny. Said he was gonna propose to Clementine, and even offered a ring! Takes jokes a bit too far, haha!"

"I...you...You're just an idiot, aren't you?" said Mithos frankly. "Well I have a better idea. Is that blood on your leg?"

"Huh? Where--"

Mithos teleported them. How, when they weren't touching? Well. Uh. You see, Mithos is such a strong angel that his mana spreeads. And it happened to surround Clementine. And now they're at Balacruf Mausaleum!

"There's no blood there..." observed Clementine.

"Must've been my imagination--"

"OH, OH! Full of dead, historical people! Who are dead! And not alive! And--"

"I get the point."

"Yeah but, Clementine bets you don't know about the secret of the mausaleum."

"Are you talking about the seal?" asked Mithos. "I know about that already."

"Nope, that's a win! There's supposed to be a way to awaken the dead. They wouldn't be like me and you, and their souls would be torn. They're supposed to only do the bidding of their master, the one who has the power to bring them back to a shadow-life. But, an army of undead! The chaos they could cause, the history in the making..." Clementine touched the stone of the mausaleum and smiled. "Wanna try?"

"I haven't heard that, and I'm over four thousand years old. If there really is a way, that would be an interesting development. Alright, let's see what we can do."

"Oh YES! KEKEKE! Let's go!"


	7. Balacruf Mausaleum

Balacruf Resurrection

Clementine frowned. She and Mithos had made sure to let out all the torches inside, and she held a single torch to light their way. But, where were all the graves? Where were the skeletons? There's more to the mausaleum and she knew it. But how to get there...

"The Balacruf lineage were people of the wind...Perhaps there is one area that is ventilated, and it holds the key..." thought Clementine out loud.

"There is a room with five fans ahead," Mithos informed her. "Maybe we should check there."

"Fans? Princess Isis liked fans. She built them as a hobby. She wanted her city to float higher and higher, so that it would eventually touch the skies. She thought that fans would push it up and brush the heavens."

"Isis? It was a tough battle against her. She wanted to deem me worthy of forming a pact with Sylph. Her battle styles also incorporated fans..." said Mithos thoughtfully.

"Hah..." Clementine huffed in exhaustion. She led the way to the room with the fans and observed each one. Mithos didn't think there was a point, since all the fans did was open a way to the seal.

"This one. It's suspicious." Clementine pointed at the green fan in the corner. She touched the blades first, and then on a hunch felt at the base of the fan. There was a secret lever there, that was only possible to find with the sense of touch. She pushed it, and the blades of the fan fell apart. The fan split open, and a skeleton lay inside.

"This isn't a fan. It's a coffin," said Mithos in wonder. "Do you think the rest of them are like that?"

"Well...Clementine's confused. This skeleton doesn't have any jewels or anything. I think something's behind it."

"Alright then. A guard? I'll get rid of it." Mithos blasted it out of the way and grabbed the torch from Clementine. "HAHAHA! I know what you mean now. There's an immense power coming from here. Come on, Clementine."

Behind the guard was a dank passageway. It smelled like a mixture of blood and soil. It was dark and bones littered the walls. At the end of it was about five rows of six coffins each, and a sword in the middle of it.

"I must have that sword!" Mithos greedily grabbed the hilt of the sword and tugged on it. It was stuck into a slab of rock.

One of the coffins creaked open. Mithos grinned insanely. "Is the dead already walking?"

"That's creepy. Pull harder Mithos!" urged Clementine.

"I can already feel the power!" The sword was a quarter of the way out. But the more Mithos pulled it, the more the coffins creaked.

With a sudden burst of power, Mithos pulled out the sword. There was a flash, and every coffin door opened widely. Skeletons, some with rotten flesh hanging on the brittle bones, walked out. The sword glowed brightly amidst the darkness. A dark farm pushed itself from the ground and appeared before Mithos and Clementine.

"You, the legendary pactmaker of old. I have waited long for this moment. I am Ruler of the Afterlife, the spirit of Death. I am the final summon spirit, the most overlooked. Is it my turn to claim you? Or shall I lend my powers to you? What say you?" Death was very different from Shadow. It had taken the form of a man covered with blood, giving a most grotesque apearance. Many joints looked dislocated as if they were glued together sloppily.

"I am Mithos the Summoner. I want your strength. I demand to have your strength! I'm not afraid of you at all. I cheated you for 4000 years. I will be your _master!_" exclaimed Mithos, with a wild look on his eyes.

"Very well. We fight for it. What will hold the oath? In times of old, rings kept the pacts, but I have no ring."

"What's the sword for then?" interrupted Clementine.

"The sword controls the undead of Balacruf. It is filled with their souls, and is not worthy to hold the oath. The oath should be kept into something close to you."

"My oath is in Clementine then. I'll fight for her and win," said Mithos confidently.

"The girl? If she keeps our oath, then she'll cheat death as long as you. A crafty promise. However, this is like no other summon spirit battle you have ever faced. I will consume your souls if you lose. Are you ready?" asked Death.

"Yes I am. Clementine, stand aside! Let's begin! HAHAHA!" Mithos grinned. He didn't have so much fun in a while. It's been millenia since he had a one-on-one fight with a summon spirit. And this was supposed to be the strongest one of all.

Wings erupted from Mithos' back. He had a smirk on his face and started chanting a spell. Death also started a spell.

"Holy Lance!" The spell interrupted Death's. It didn't matter though. Death grabbed Mithos--a strange, cold feeling--and took energy directly from him.

"Pretty good!" said Mithos. "Haha. Retribution!"

The fight went on, with Mithos eventually grabbing the sword and hacking Death. It didn't have too much of an effect, but the way he wielded a sword overmatched anyone else.

It was a narrow victory, but Mithos won in a brilliant show of strength. Death yielded, admitting that Mithos was a worthy adversary.

"You're the only pactmaker that fights on his own, and you're the only pactmaker that has been able to beat me. It's no wonder you escaped my clutches for millenia, while sending countless to the afterlife before their time. The sword is yours, and as long as the girl is nearby, so is my power. Always satiate my hunger for death." The summon spirit disappeared back into the ground.

"Everyone's lives rest in my hands...Haha...hahahaha...HAHAHAHA!"

"So hurt though, Mithos! POW POW POW!" Clementine touched Mithos lightly so that all of his bruises would heal. Then she gasped and fell to her knees.

"Can you walk?" asked Mithos uncertainly.

Clementine struggled to get up. "Y-yeah, Clementine's fine..."

"Don't leave my side. We're getting out of here," said Mithos. He tried to teleport, but there seemed to be a seal surrounding the room that prevented just that from happening. The Balacruf undead surrounded them.

One of them, heavily laden with jewels and ornaments, held a small dagger with a bony hand and pointed it at them. "You may have made the pact, but we do not believe you are worthy of our services. If you can leave this place alive, we will lend you our powers."

"I'll just blow you to pieces then!" stated Mithos loudly.

"We cannot die or be destroyed. We will aways come back and haunt this world until someone frees us," explained another wealthy skeleton.

"How can you be freed?" asked Clementine.

"Perhaps the Goddess Martel herself can free us. A single healer such as yourself would have to help each of us individually."

The skeletons advanced on them. They all carried many weapons, and one of them gave a signal. All of them charged.

The ceiling was low, and Mithos flew and barely avoided getting hit by either the ceiling or the undead. Clementine had ducked and was chewing on the leg of one of the skeletons.

"_Get away!_" snapped Mithos, sinking back down to the floor and spreading light everywhere. Everything was blown away from him, and by now, Clementine was punctured in various places and bleeding terribly. She was also blown away, and crawled in the direction of the exit.

_'Clementine! You can't heal in that condition. If you keep doing that, you're going to die! I, I don't want to see you go!'_

_'Clementine's sorry, Klein...You're not mad are you? Are you? Are you are you are--'_

_'This isn't a time for jokes! Just hold on, Clementine...I'll protect you.'_

_'But Klein, you're hurt! And Clementine can just do ONE more...'_

_'No you can't. Last time you didn't wake up for three days. What if you just don't wake up anymore at all?'_

_'Fine but watch out, you know? Clementine doesn't want to see you go either!'_

Clementine huffed, and felt completely faint. "Can't...Klein'd never forgive Clementine..."

"HAHAHA! This is like target practice! What, getting up again? TAKE THAT! AND THAT! AND THAT! HAHAHA...HAHAHA! HAHAHAHA!" laughed Mithos, blowing random skeletons to the ground.

"Must take...one last note..." said Clementine tiredly. She reached into a pocket and with great effort pulled out the fountain pen and ink. She carefully wrote on her arm--"Takes great pleasure in attacking things."

"I'll blow you to smithereens! That'll show you undead humans! HOLY LANCE!" shouted Mithos.

But Mithos was getting tired out. He fought the undead one too many times. Soon they found an opening, and started to hack at him.

"Ugh! Pretty good..." Mithos frowned. In mere moments, he was brought down to his knees.

Clementine gasped. She was feigning death for a while and trying to regain some strength. She noticed that Mithos was down and catapulted herself at the skeletons. She was pushed away easily, but it gave Mithos the opening he needed. He grabbed Clementine and exited quickly. The undead didn't follow, as was their promise.


End file.
